


Hero

by orphan_account



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Hero Worship, Sibling Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-03-04
Updated: 2005-03-04
Packaged: 2017-10-10 22:24:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/105015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account





	Hero

Sometimes when you think about it, you understand with perfect clarity how it happened, the causes and consequences, the ways it could have been avoided, his role in this and yours... and sometimes you don't.

It was normal when you were kids, ages as close as possible without being twins, and as often together as possible without being joined at the hip.

You'd been equals once; then hero-worship had started. You were aware of it, aware of the way he smiled at you and the way you smiled back. There was something more than brotherly love there, and you both enjoyed it really; because looking up at someone you love makes for such a good example, and being looked up at by someone you love is so exhilarating...

Then he entered Seishun Gakuen, and things changed. Everyone thought he would subscribe to the tennis club within seconds of entering the school grounds, but he didn't. He had a choice to make, it seemed, and it was obvious that you couldn't help him with it because he wouldn't tell you about it. It hurt, being kept in the dark like this.

He did choose, eventually. And the consequences of his choice sent your whole world crumbling.

You didn't see much of each other after that, because he was so occupied with things that were none of your concern, and after a while you had to admit that the hero worship was long gone. And you were left pondering what was left of your previous relationship.

Little, you understood when your school faced his at tennis. You'd hoped to be able to play him and maybe, by some sort of miracle, make things right again; but you were also sort of scared of it, and in the end the order of the matches was good enough.

But it gave you the time to understand that you'd both found someone else to rely on. Of course one was more obvious than the other, but then Tezuka didn't necessarily enjoy the attention while Mizuki relished in it.

And as you stood in front of his kneeling, defeated figure, you understood that you wanted your life to go like that match : a game in which he had a comfortable head start, but that you would end up winning nevertheless.

But it wasn't. Because some things were more complex than pure tennis.

And you kept smiling, because heroes do not crumble.


End file.
